Ronald Koeman: Dutch footballers at Saudi clubs will not play for the Netherlands
Netherlands men’s team manager Ronald Koeman announced in the press conference on Tuesday while discussing his squad for the two UEFA Nations League matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany that he will not pick winger Steven Bergwijn while he is playing in Saudi Arabia. The winger's transfer to Saudi club Al-Ittihad was confirmed last night. “The book is basically closed to him,” Koeman said at the press conference.
“You know what I think about this. When you are 26, your main ambition should be sporting, not financial. These are choices that players make. I have never been in that situation, because I could join Barcelona. He could have stayed at Ajax. That’s not so bad, is it? You have to respect his choice, but personally, I wouldn’t have moved,” Koeman explained his logic behind the decision.
Some have said that this is somewhat hypocritical of Koeman as he called up Georginio Wijnaldum for last summer’s European Championships even though the midfielder also played in Saudi Arabia at the time.
Koeman also confirmed that Marten de Roon and Wijnaldum will not be called up for the national side again while he is manager. He also said this about Daley Blind, but the defender had already announced his retirement from the national side a few weeks ago.
Koeman added that De Roon and Wijnaldum seemed to expect the decision. The manager had spoken to them via FaceTime. “It was very positive they understood and felt it was a logical choice and thanked me for the good times.” De Roon and Wijnaldum are both 33 years old, and many midfielders are coming through the Dutch ranks significantly younger.
Another player who has missed out on the squad is Memphis Depay. The forward left Atletico Madrid last summer but is still without a club. Koeman had already told Depay that he would not be selected if he had no club, but he said on Tuesday that Depay will be an option if he finds a club and gets fit again.
It was a hectic press conference, with Koeman also getting into an argument with Valentijn Driessen, a journalist for De Telegraaf, after Driessen criticized Depay, saying that he had never delivered for the national team at a major tournament.
Koeman did not like this comment and told the journalist to have some respect with his questions before also hurling an insult at the journalist. “Apparently, they don’t replace people at the newspaper like we do.”
